Patrick...all I can say is WOW!! You did really good! What a GREAT Selection! I can't wait to see the pictures of all those beautiful Hoyas you ordered! Please let us know how your plants arrive. It is always helpful to hear others experiences with out of country hoya purchases. Congrats!! You are soooo ADDICTED, lol...

Patrick you really did take the plunge! This certainly beats starting with the more commonly found Hoyas. You have several choice species on that list so I am sure you will be more than happy with them. If the plants look dehydrated soak them (submerged) in a bucket of water with a little sugar added if they look particularly stressed. You can soak the cuttings until they have regained all the moisture they lost in transit, be it two or 12 hours they will thank you for it.

Mike

How exciting! I just love placing big orders but hate the wait for them to arrive. I have no patience! haha.
Your Aleya order since it's coming EMS should have a tracking number you can follow the plants journey to you.
I've ordered and received from both of these sellers you ordered from a couple times each. Just remind Aleya to use larger water crystals when packing your order and all will be fine. Believe me larger versus small mush does make a difference on the water crystal method he uses.
I hope you share pictures of your bounty when all arrives!,,,,Debbie

Patrick, any updates on your many wonderful hoyas that you ordered? I'm sure it will take a while...just curious.

Patrick,
Wow, what a haul! How exciting to be getting all of those plants.

I, too, ordered H. sigillatis from Apodagis on eBay. I ordered H. kerrii 'Spots' or something like that last fall, also, and it did take a little more than 10 days for the package to get to me. The plant was in great shape, though.

I am hoping the package gets here soon, I am so anxious!
Mike

Patrick and Mike..I looked, relooked, and re-re-looked at the Sig plugs on Ebay/Apodagis..but 35.00 for shipping???! I can't afford it.
Still, I wanted to buy a couple plugs..In fact, I decided to go ahead, but at 7.99 shipping cost..Went to Ebay but the auction ended..boo hoo..lol
When you get these beautys please post pics..They looked healthy and good-sized.
Does he combine shipping or is each plug 'shipment' 35.00?

Patrick, the reason I'm skeptical about Apodagis shipping price is, I order from two nurseries in Thailand..Aleya and KW's. I've placed large and small orders but never paid 35.00 (for shipping)..Even the faster shipping method was less. The smaller order, (much heavier than 3 plugs) cost around 20.00..for(shipping)
Which makes me think Apodagis is really charging for handling. Does he provide the phyto certificate?

Which plants did you order from Aleya Gardens?
The owner mentioned he was going to start selling cuttings, too. So, for those who know how to root Hoyas, now is your chance to get rare specimens at reasonable prices..

Patrick, please don't think I'm negative..I think it's fantastic, and you've got soome lovely hoyas coming in. What a treat! Something to look foreward to.
Will someone be home when the mailman comes? You'll need to sign for the packages. At least I have with every order from Thailand. Have fun and don't forget to post..Toni

Toni,
Shipping from Apodagis is $7.50, not $35.00! There is another vendor on eBay that charges a lot for shipping, but I would not order from them. Right now, Apodagis does not have any plants for sale on eBay.
Can you supply the link for the plants you were looking at on eBay that had $35.00 shipping?
Thanks,
Mike

I'm sorry, Toni...I think you misunderstood me....the plugs were a total of $7.50 shipping...whether one plug, or the 4 plugs that I ordered. The $35 I quoted was what Apodagis said it would cost for a faster delivery...so, I opted for the slower delivery. With Aleya, I opted for the faster delivery, which cost $41...and I listed the plants in my previous post...10 of them! I received an e-mail from Aleya that they shipped my plants on Monday...and yes, the phyto cert. is included in both purchases. Apodagis e-mailed on Tuesday that they had shipped the 12 H. sigillatus. Like Mike (Mn), I'm a bit nervous about the plants arriving later than expected and being dehydrated beyond help. I'm also disgusted with myself for not researching things better...I ordered a H. imbricata...simply based on the picture...only to find out this was the ONE hoya I vowed never to purchase, due to it needing to be mounted, extreme humidity and strong light. I know several of the members of the Hoya forum have this plant....I went back and re-read all they had to say...I'm still angry that I was too stupid to realize that this was NOT the plant for me. But, after several days, I finally realized that this name was familiar...and sure enough, it's the hoya I vowed never to purchase. On a more positive note: I received a shipment from SRQ Hoyas on Monday...absolutely fabulous plants!! I am so happy with the size and quality. I ordered H. latifolia, H. linearis (She didn't charge me for this beautiful plant), H. Nicholsonii, H. Wallichii and H. Tjadasmalangensis. H. Tjad. is a "show stopper"...enormous leaves....Denise would love this hoya, if she doesn't already have it! The leaves are about 8 1/2" by 5 1/2"...and it's a young plant. The leaves are very shiny and have wonderful venation. I keep it where I can see it all day long...it's become my #1 favorite hoya!! SRQ Hoyas is a great place to buy from. I'm now praying that the postal service delivers at least one package from Thailand tomorrow...er, today!! LOL Best wishes to everyone, Patrick

I really LOVE tjadasmalangensis. I keep looking at it on her site and drool over it. I just cannot fit it in anywhere though. If I ever find that I have the room, that baby is coming here to live with me.

You have a grand list of things coming to you. How fun!

Maybe you can trade your imbricata for something you want instead? I'd trade you for it, but I don't think I have anything you'd want.

Definitely post here when your plants arrive and if they are not looking so good we will help you pull them through. I have gotten Hoyas from Thailand several times and sometimes they need intensive care or at least TLC to save them.

Mike

Mike, you often talk of soaking cuttings in water with sugar. May I ask how much sugar you add to say one gallon of Distilled water?

Congrats on all your new hoyas Patrick! Looking forward to your updates on your Thailand orders. I am like you...Imbricata is one I don't want either. The mounted thing scares me, plus the fussy/special care doesn't appeal to me... I'm sure like quinn said you can probably trade someone for it!

Patrick, I like to trade imbricata you have for something I have. I can mount the plant, hopefully I can keep it alive this time. Last time I had it growing in the soil, were doing good until I moved the plant. So I said tomyself, next time I'll mount it & leave it aolne for awhile.
Jan

Patrick don't get rid of your imbricata till you try it in a terrarium. Take any plastic or glass container with a lid and place a layer of washed orchid bark. I use the type that has a mixture of bark, charcoal and perlite. Wash the orchid bark mix to get the charcoal dust out. Put the mixture in the conatainer. Next take spagnum moss and wash it to get any debris and salt out. Squeeze out most of the water till it's left only fairly damp. Layer that on top of the orchid mix and plant your imbricata in the moss and let the roots touch on the orchid mix. Imbricata loves this!! Put the lid on and set it where it gets good bright light and whala!
I grow my imbricatas (all green & spotted) this way and let its vines wander around in the container at will.
Just a suggestion.,,,,Debbie

Mike, you're right, shipping from Apodagis was 7.99, but when I first saw the Sig plugs, I wrote to him, asking if he combined shipping..He suggested, it was my best interest, paying 35.00 for faster shipping since it's such a long ride.
I have talked to other Thailand sellers who recommend faster shipping, too.

Then Patrick, who started this post, said he paid 35.00 for faster shipping..you see? lol.

I think I know the nursery you're talking about who charges (shipping) 30.00 per plant. I can't recall his Ebay name.
I even wrote to them, lol, asking why a 3" or bare root plants' shipping is 30.00 when other Thailand dealers charge 30.00 for several plants.
He/she replied, buyers were complaining plants arrived dead or never came. Apparently, this nursery got tired of reshipping the same plant/s twice, so they increased shipping fees.

Patrick, so it was you who won the Sigs I was going to bid against? lol..Ironic..
Don't be nervous about the Sig's..I think it's pretty hardy..Mine made it fine. I didn't pay the extra cost for faster shipping..As for the other hoyas, I can't say..keep praying..What's their policy? Refunds?
Oh, you can't keep imbricata???..What color are their leaves..Do you mind if I ask where you got it? Imbricata's on my list of hoyas to buy..lol..I want the one with a myriad of colors..Are Imbricatas difficult? Why did you vow not to buy more? They're beautiful. But if they require a certain climate, or die two wks later, I'd like to know.
I kill Curtisii..I doubt I'll get another.

Pug I usually use a five gallon bucket to soak cuttings and maybe fill it half way, to that I add a Tbsp or so of sugar. I don't think the concentration is critical but I don't want to go overboard.

I have ordered plants from Thailand several times and I can tell you that shipping varies in the amount of time it takes to arrive. With the regular shipping it has taken up to 22 days to arrive. If you will be heart broken to find some rough looking cuttings that will need some serious TLC it may be best to use the express shipping.

Toni Hoya imbricata is probably the Hoya species with the most demanding cultural needs and it can be expected to be hard to grow unless you give it what it needs. Unless you have a greenhouse you will probably need a terrarium to grow the plant because they really are at their best when grown mounted on wood.

Mike

Thanks to everyone for their advice. I'm totally ready to deal with H. imbricata...I cut a 5' dead branch out of my Maple tree today....I covered it with coco-fibre, tying it with garden twine. When the plants arrive, I'll attach the imbricata to the coco-fibre with the same garden twine and place the entire 5' branch, with plant attached, in my Yucca pot...facing the west window. Then it'll be easy to spray the plant as often as needed. I do not like the idea of a terrarium...I tried it before using a 10 gallon fishtank...it was too difficult and there's not enough light...plus, it's in my house, where I keep the thermostats at 58 degrees during the winter. I believe the plant will do fine in my sunroom where the humidity is maintained at a minimum of 70% during the winter, and much, much higher in the summer...plus the temperatures are significantly higher than I keep my house. Mike (Ont), thanks for your advice on the soaking...I'll definitely follow your suggestion. Mike (Mn), let us know when you receive your sigillatus from Apodagis. Hopefulauthor...I wasn't the only one to purchase sigillatus from Apodagis...he had 10 plugs offered, "buy it now" at 9.99 and 7.50 shipping...I bought 4 of the 10, Mike (Mn) bought one of them...there were still two remaining when I ordered mine...but, the auction ended 20 hours after I placed my order. Funny thing about Apodagis that he encouraged hopefulauthor to opt for the $30 shipping, and he discouraged me from doing so...he strongly suggested that I go with the $7.50 shipping. I have a worrisome feeling that the transit time will be similar with the $41 shipping cost and the $7.50 shipping cost. I'm confident that I'll receive both packages by Christmas...perfect for me, cause, when I receive a package of hoyas, I'm just like a "kid on Christmas morning"! LOL Thank you all so much...you're the greatest!! Best wishes, Patrick

Patrick, I've recently been told that coco-fibre is not the best to use for this type of plant . . . try covering the branch with sphagnum moss, instead. It retains moisture, where the coco fibre will not. I had been misinformed and was using coco with a Dischidia and it nearly died! I switched to the moss two days ago and the plant already looks 200% better. Other than that, I love your idea!

Carolyn

Be careful what you order with www.apodagis.com
my friend got only bad quality

Sandra sorry your friends order arrived in bad shape. Has she notified Apodagis to tell him and give him the chance to replace or compensate her/him?
This Spring I ordered from him and 2 of the cuts arrived in sad shape but the others all arrived fine. I'd forgotten about these 2 and have now replaced them from other sellers. Apodagis let me know he remembered owing me a couple things and had mailed them out Tues of last week. So they should be arriving anytime hopefully. His remembering really hit me as being honest and wanting to treat people as he would like to be treated.
To me Apodagis has always been a fair man and I think if your friend let him know he would treat her/him fairly also. Ya never know till ya try.,,,,Debbie

I received my H. sigillatis plug from Apodagis today and the plants are in great shape and much larger than I thought they would be. I'll try to remember to take a pic tomorrow and post it, if anyone is interested.
Mike in MN

Mike, Congrats!! I am so glad the Sigillatis plugs arrived in great shape. That only took 7 days didn't it? Looking forward to pics...definitely interested! Larger than expected is always a good thing,lol

Debbie, your suggestions above are very good...especially after hearing Mike(MN) very good experience!

Hi puglvr1,
I will have to look at the email I received when I purchased the plug. The buy-it-now ended on 8-14-09, but I purchased my plug prior to the end of the B-I-N. I also don't know how soon after I purchased the plant that the plant was shipped, but it seems like it didn't take as long as last fall.

Sandra,
Did your friend purchase from www.apodagis.com or from this seller's eBay auction? It really shouldn't matter, but make sure your friend contacts apodagis to allow him to make it right.

Last fall, I had emailed apodagis to find out when my plant had been shipped since I had not received the plant in what seemed like a reasonable amount of time. Apodagis emailed back and said if I didn't receive the plant, he would re-ship or refund. I thought that was very nice of him and certainly not necessary since the plant was coming from Thailand. I received the plant a couple of days later, so it just took a couple days longer than "normal" for me to receive the plant. Apodagis has 100% positive feedback on his eBay page.
Mike